1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to full-duplex media access control (MAC) timing modification, and more specifically to ensuring that node pairs involved in full-duplex communications do not receive an unfair advantage of capturing the full-duplex channel repeatedly over nodes communicating in a half-duplex mode.
2. Introduction
In 802.11 wireless networks, various durations for specific actions and events are defined. The durations often change depending on protocol version (for example, version 802.11(a) versus version 802.11(n)), however the relationships of the defined durations do not change. Examples of durations defined within the 802.11 model are SIFS (short interframe space), DIFS (distributed coordination function interframe space), and EIFS (extended interframe space). The relationships of the exemplary durations, as defined by the 802.11 model, are that a SIFS has a shorter duration than a DIFS, which in turn has a shorter duration than an EIFS. For example, the SIFS can have a duration of 10 μs, the DIFS can have a duration of the SIFS duration+(2×a predetermined slot time), and the EIFS can have a duration of the SIFS duration+the DIFS duration+acknowledgment duration. Alternatively, the SIFS can have a duration determined based on transmission and processing delays built into the system.
A MAC (media access control) layer defines how nodes communicate with other nodes using a specific protocol version. MAC layers for the 802.11 model and other wireless networks specify that nodes will pause for a longer wait time (EIFS), rather than the standard wait time (DIFS), when the nodes receive an erroneous packet. The purpose of the extended wait time upon receiving an erroneous packet is to allow other packet recipient nodes, who received the data correctly, to be able to send an acknowledgment frame in time.